Clock illumination



July 28, 1942. P. KONCPITSKI 2,290,972

CLOCK ILLUMINATION Filed Jan. 30, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l z 1f- 6: P/i/Y/b [fa/10, [IS/ff,

July 28, 1942. P. KONOPITSKI 2,290,972

CLOCK ILLUMINATION Filed Jan. 30, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 28, 1942 UNI ED ST TES P E O ICE 2,290,972 CLOCK ILLUMINATION PhilipKcnopitslgi, Buckroe Beach, Va. Application January 3!), 1342, Serial No. 428,946

1 Claim.

This invention relates to clock illumination, and has for the primary object the provision of an eflicientand inexpensive portable device of the stated character, which will provide a simple and practical support for a clock to permit positioning thereof at any place desired and provides accommodation for a source of electrical energy and electric illuminating means for the face of the clock, whereby a person desiring to ascertain the time in the dark may conveniently render the illuminating means operative and thus be able to clearly read the time, the electric illuminating means automatically becoming inoperative immediately on being free of manual operation.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation illustrating a clock illumination constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the device.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, showing the mounting of the source of electric energy and. the control switch for the electric circuit between said source and the electric lamp.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view, partly in section, illustrating the mounting for the source of electric energy.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating the electric illuminating means and its mounting.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary front elevation illustrating a modified form of my invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates the body of the device which may be of various shapes or designs and is preferably provided with a flat bottom face 6 to permit the body to rest evenly upon any type of support, such as a table, shelf, mantel or the like.

The body 5 may be constructed of any material suitable for the purpose and is provided with an opening I to provide a mounting for a clock 8. Any type of clock, either electric or spring operated, may be mounted in the body and arranged above the face of the clock on the front wall of the body is a reflector 9 to accommodate therein an electric lamp III. The reflector acts to direct the rays of light from the electric lamp over the face of the clock so' that it can be read for a considerabledistance' in the dark.

The body 5 is provided with a recess I I for the accommodation of the electric lamp socket I0, the conductors of whichare'indicatedby the character I2. The electric lamp socket extends a limited distance'outwardly of the recess II to support the electric lamp [0 within the reflector The body 5 is provided with a passageway I3 leading-from the socket III to a chamber I4 opening outwardly through one end of the body and through which extend the electric conductors. A self-releasing push button type switch I5 is mounted on the body 5 and extends into the chamber to contact a battery I6 when manually pressed. One of the conductors is electrically connected to the switch I5 while the other conductor is connected to an electric contact I! of the spring type mounted in the chamber I4, as shown at I8. The spring contact ll bears against the battery I6.

The battery I6 is removably mounted in a holder I9 carried by a closure plate 20 acting normally to close the chamber I4 and is provided with a finger piece 2| to permit a person to readily remove the holder I9 when it is necessary to renew the battery.

The holder I9 is of substantially U shape providing spring arms 22 and a connecting portion 23 for the spring arms. The connecting portion 23 is suitably secured to the plate 20. The free ends of the spring arms are preferably curved away from each other to facilitate the application of a battery to the holder. Said spring arms include ears 24 which engage under the lower end of the battery and coact with the arms in firmly supporting the battery within the chamber I4 in engagement with the spring contact IT.

The battery I6 is preferably of the flashlight type and when mounted in the holder I9 and the latter located within the chamber I4, the contact of the battery will be located directly under the switch I5 so that when the latter is pressed manually the circuit to the electric lamp will be completed and thereby efficiently illuminate the face of the clock carried by the body of the device.

The spring arms 22 are provided with offsets 25 to enter grooves formed in opposite walls of the chamber I4 to releasably secure the holder I9 in the chamber.

The switch I5 is of the spring plunger type and the housing thereof frictionally fits within an opening provided in the body and which communicates with the chamber M. The spring of the plunger normally positions the latter away from the contact of the battery, consequently breaking the circuit to the electric lamp.

When a person desires to ascertain the time in the dark, it is only necessary to press the plunger of the switch and the dial of the clock becomes fully illuminated permitting the person to clearly ascertain the time.

Referring to my modified form of the invention, the shape of the body may be varied from that described heretofore and is indicated generally by the character 21. The body 21 has a recess 28 opening outwardly through its upper end. A portion of the recess 28 is larger than its other portion, the smaller portion of the recess being for the accommodation of the battery holder, as clearly shown in Figure 6. The portions of the body 21 where the recess 28 opens outwardly through the upper end of said body provide spaced rests 29 on which a clock 3|] may rest. In this form of the invention the reflector and electric lamp are mounted on the front face of the body 21 to direct the rays of light upwardly over the face of the clock when the switch is pressed.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be seen that a very efficient holder or support has been provided for a clock, which will accommodate electric illuminating means as well as the source of energy for said illuminating means with a switch whereby the circuit of the electric illuminating means may be manually closed when desiring to illuminate the clock supported by the holder.

A device of this character will be found extremely useful and may be manufactured and sold at a low cost.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a clock illuminating device, a body including a clock seat, an electric lamp for illuminating a clock mounted on said body, a reflector for said lamp and carried by the body, said body having a chamber opening outwardly through an end of the body, a holder including a face plate and resilient fingers for receiving and gripping a battery to support the latter within said chamber with the face plate closing said chamber, an elec tric circuit including a switch electrically connecting the battery to the electric lamp with the switch mounted in said body for manual operation from the exterior thereof, said fingers having binding engagement with walls of the chamber to releasably secure the holder therein.

PHILIP KONOPITSKI. 

